Obviously they think he can contribute but don't act as if Bellichick doesn't know he can suck information out about the Jets D from Ellis. I'm not on board with they threw all that $$$ at Ellis just to get information but there definitely is more then he can contribute at play here. They could have gotten more production out of Matt Roth without the age risk and possibly cheaper but Roth has no insight to the defense that shut down his offense in Foxboro back in December.
He started for the Jets last year, I seem to recall. He got that shtty since then he can't even make a roster of a team the Jets beat twice? I seem to be missing something...
Rex has shown that he can change it up. He fucked the Pats offense all up going to zone and clogging the middle where the Pats love to throw in the playoffs last year. He may have caused Rex and the staff some extra work to change a few more things up. The Pats have already had x-Ravens that know Rex's defense. Roth got a work out in NE selling that he was looking for a $3mil one year deal. In the middle of the visit he (his agent?) bumped the price up and BB told them to have a nice day! If the Pats didn't think Ellis was the better player (fit) for the team, they'd have gone another way.
I think his agent is Rosenhaus so that's not surprising that there were some "shenanagins" in the negotiating process. I'm know Rex will change things up it's just that extra work they'll have to put in during the week that gives the Pats an edge. I'm sure Belli knew he had to change the offense up going against his D but I'm not sure the Jets ever expected Ellis to sign with the Pats.
What I have gathered from the news is that the Jets ran out of money, and had little to offer Ellis above the vet minimum. That may make the Jets approach here have some reasoning behind it, but it does not mean that Ellis is not worth what the open market appears to say he's worth.
I assume part of it is that the Jets made a deliberate decision to get younger at a few spots--like every good team does almost every year--and they were able to find two lineman they really liked in the draft. If they'd found, say, an OLB and a WR they loved instead of Wilkerson and K. Ellis, then they might have kept Ellis and not gone with Thomas and Plax.
We signed Kevin O'Connell and made him a team captain. I think we should be careful throwing stones in this regard... I think Belichick signed him because the Patriots had cap room, and needed a defensive lineman is all. Conspiracies are fun, but the simplest explanation is that he filled a need for New England.
Yes, I'd think that the corpus of game films showing Rex's (and potentially his father's and brother's) defense in action as analyzed by the Patriots coaching staff has to far outweigh any insights that Shaun would bring to the table. And don't forget that that a victory over the Patriots must include success by the opposing offense. Look where NE is concentrating it's efforts - improving a defense that gave up a lot of ground yardage and put NE in a hole the last two playoff games. It's much more likely that Ellis was brought on to address that glaring need. Who beat NE last year? Teams who had success running the ball against them. What happened to the Jets when they failed on offense? 45-3.
This has the same feeling as when Victor Green went to the Pats. But Ellis should have never left the Jets and retired as a Jet.
after making Kevin OConnell a team captain and having a coach fired for on-field interference, you might want to remember something about glass houses.
I think the biggest detail thats gotten lost in this whole fiasco. With emotions running high, people wanting Ellis dead or thinking hed be useless here; and just downright stupidity in general. Moving forward, and going from Shaun Ellis to Muhammad Wilkerson, keep this in mind folks. WERE GOING FROM A 90 TO A FRIGGIN 70 IN MADDEN AT THE DE SPOT!!!!!!! HORSESHIT OH NOOOOOOZZZZZZZ
I'm sure that didn't hurt (getting a little insight into the Jets' schemes), but Belichick has had the better part of seven months to review that game film. I'm pretty sure any coach, especially one who's been breaking down film since he was a child, could pretty much figure out what Rex did and how he did it. This kind of thing happens all the time... you guys know that. Late training camp cuts are often signed by the team's Week 1 opponent because of the installation of new plays and systems that aren't on film yet.
Rex is constantly changing everything. Belichick gets multiple chances to view the Jets' D against his team's O every single season, and he still has trouble planning against it. Poaching Jets' personnel to milk them for info is next to useless. Speaking of Jets' personnel, the new guys will change everything. The young D-Linemen, the very good depth at corner, and the return of three healthy and effective safeties means that Rex has even more flexibility with regard to what he can do to confuse offenses.
The young D-linemen could create pressure on the LB's to do more. While I expect them to contribute, to think a couple of rooks will hit the ground running is a bit much. If anything, the D may be a hair weaker (on paper) to start the year. With Rex pulling the strings, it shouldn't have much of an effect. I expect the D to be good. I don't see how the Jets have any more depth at CB than they did last year, unless Wilson takes a large leap forward.
Ellis wasn't signed by the Pats for information. He didn't attend any practices or meetings this offseason so he has no current information to give the Pats and no idea what changes are being implemented. If the Jets braintrust is stupid enough to trot out the same schemes as they did last year, the Pats can get all the info they need from Murrell or game film. The Pats need serious help along their defensive front and they are hoping Ellis has something left in the tank.
Given that he started for the Jets last year and played well, that would not appear to be an unreasonable hope.
Last season the Pats DL was a mess. For Christ's sake, Landon Cohen (late season pick up) Eric Moore (UFL refugee), Brandon Deadrick (7th round rookie) Myron Pryor 7th round 2nd year player) were all getting significant Snaps at the end of the season. This year BB isn't having any of that. There are now 20 DLmen in camp. All the guys who were hurt, all the the guys who ended the season and the several new FAs people are speculating about including Sean Ellis. NO ONE has a clue what will be the final make up of the DL when the team opens the season. But the BOTTOM LINE here is that what ever the results of that fierce competition that is going on down in Foxboro is going to end up with the Pats having a BETTER DL than last season.
